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Family from the Ashes
Story Recap A Last Knight story: Nick is ash, Lacroix is gone, and yet something stirs Janette's interest. Notes Written for FK Fic Fest 2015 (released 26 August). The recipient was argentum_ls/LadySilver, and the story was beta-read by ilyena_sylph. Length: 1814 words. Written to the prompt: Post-Last Knight. Natalie lives. Nick accidentally brought her across before dying. Because Lacroix vacated Toronto, Janette is the one who steps up to rescue and mentor Natalie. Quotes * "It was less that Janette cared about anyone in this city and more the simple fact that it was familiar that made her remain. Perhaps it was because she felt a duty to Lacroix that meant she spent several nights making certain all spaces used by him, and Nic, were clear of any incriminating evidence." * "It's like we got an angel out there in the night, finally cleaning up the scum that can't be touched." Comments * "What a terrific story! I loved how you did Janette -- so fierce & protective, and family-oriented -- very in-character." — comment by LastScorpion on AO3 ** "Thank you. One of the reasons I will never walk away from Forever Knight has to do with my love of the admittedly dysfunctional family dynamics it wove." — reply by merfilly on AO3 * "I enjoyed this immensely, especially hearing from Janette, ever the pragmatist, ever the survivor. Was troubled at first by the idea that Natalie would become a vigilante killer when she could have gone to the Raven for help, but then remembered how much she wanted to go after the man (Gaunt?) who killed her goddaughter, and how her brother reacted when brought across, and it was no longer a stretch of imagination." — comment by dlyt on AO3 * "This could be the intro to a new series: 'She was bought across in 2015. Preyed on humans for their blood. Now, she wants to remain a vampire in order to repay the evil ones for their sins. To stay in her world of darkness, until she can end her own endless Forever Knight.' ... with Natalie and Janette as the lead characters. :-)" — excerpted from comment by WaltD on AO3 * "Here we get an interesting glimpse into Janette's mind. It's nice to see how she takes over the responsibility of Nick's legacy. The you are mine phrase seems to run in the family. I wonder if Janette inherited Lacroix's possessive streak in this regard. / It's also interesting that Natalie takes after her brother and takes the law into her own hands. Very clever of Janette to see the pattern. / That Nick had to die works for the story, I agree to that. (But you know me, I'd rather have seen Lacroix dragging him away to live happily ever after;))" — comment by PJ1228 on AO3 ** "((I had to MAKE myself write this as a Nick-is-dead, Lacoix-is-sulking aftermath)) / I think my mind was wrapped a bit more around the idea that Janette seems to need, at least semi-regular companionship or ... responsibility? I don't know the word I want there. Basically, she will float away for times in the trio's history, but always comes back. And then she had the Raven, and that seemed to settle well with her for a time. Nat, on the other hand... well, she's had some darker moments, and I felt this worked. She knew she had to feed, knew the people were truly guilty." — reply by Merfilly * "Fantastic! I'll admit that this is not at all what I imagined from the prompt, but I can't quibble at all with the result." — comment by LadySilver * " I found your "Family from the Ashes" surprisingly cheering! Perhaps it's just me, but even with the weight of all the death and loss in the scenario (from Nick forward, or even third-season forward), the strong agency and forward motion of Janette and Natalie here, plus the variation on a "found family" connection, felt very encouraging to me. The final line, "Together, they would face the eternal night while memories of Nicolas faded behind them," brought a smile to my face for their fortitude and endurance. / As others have also been, I was very appropriately struck here with the resonating memory of Natalie's brother, Richard, in "I Will Repay," and how the nature of vampirism twisted his wish "to do good" into a string of vigilante murders; targeted, certainly, and yet, it should go without saying (except perhaps to vampires ~grin~), murder is wrong. I appreciated that this Natalie, with her greater knowledge and experience through the years of her friendship with Nick, unlike Richard, was able to pace herself enough and disguise her actions enough that she didn't throw the city into an uproar, but that rather even Janette had to put effort into assembling the clues." — excerpted from comment by brightknightie on AO3 ** "Natalie being so discerning and intelligent worked in her favor to keep the flow of what I was seeing in my mind. As Nick's confidante and the primary M.E. we saw him interact with, she'd had exposure to the ones that slipped through the cracks. And she had the inside knowledge on how to best keep her kills discreet." — excerpted from reply by merfilly on AO3 See Also Category:Fan Fiction Category:PG-Rated Fan Fiction Category:Short Story Category:Works by Merfilly Category:Last Knight stories Category:Drama Category:Fan Fiction from 2015